"THE BOOK OF MORMON IS TRUE," by Marilynne Todd Linford, Covenant Communications, $13.99, 288 pages (nf)
Author Marilynne Todd Linford is not a stranger to the Book of Mormon and LDS church history. A member of the Materials Evaluation Committee for 11 years and a long-time docent for the LDS Church History Museum, she’s surrounded with LDS history and doctrine.
Despite her familiarity and belief in the teachings of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she came to a remarkable conclusion when she decided to undertake a new scripture study method. “The Book of Mormon is True: Evidences and Insights to Strengthen Your Testimony” is a synopsis of her findings.
Linford decided to type, word for word, the Book of Mormon. Before she was half way through her project, she realized the voices of each book’s authors were distinctly diverse. After this discovery, she pursued her find and performed an in-depth study of what made the Book of Mormon so unique.
Each contributor in the Book of Mormon wrote and spoke in a unique fashion. Most of them used words specific only to them and Linford lists those words and talks about the history of each speaker and writer. Linford compares the Book of Mormon to other ancient writs of the same time and shows the fascinating similarities between them that have only been discovered recently.
Linford also gives a brief synopsis of each person and place mentioned in the Book of Mormon. She goes over the themes found in each book and brings out important passages regarding teachings and distinctive words found in those books.
“The Book of Mormon is True” is an absorbing read and melds testimony with modern findings to prove how impossible it was for Joseph Smith to have authored this book of scripture.
A mother and grandmother, Linford has written several books. She resides with her husband in Utah.
Elizabeth Reid has bachelor's degrees in economics and history. She has worked in retail, medical billing, catering, education and business fields. Her favorite occupation is that of wife and mother. She blogs at agoodreid.blogspot.com.